Precious Treasure - Introduction
Introduction
Tags: Divine Help, Sun, Olive tree, Silk worm
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Why should there not be immense joy, happiness and yearning for gratitude where there are extremely great favours and bounties of God, may He be exalted and blessed, in the form of intellect and recognition (ma`rifat)? These bounties are always available in Islam, because God, Who is the Master of grace and mercy and the true Sovereign of both the worlds, has granted them by making it possible to hold the holy hem of the exalted Imam and to follow him through His Messenger.
This humble servant, who zealously considers himself the dust under the feet of mu'mins, believes that every individual's real well-being and success lie in the golden principle that he should form the habit of humility, modesty and well-wishing [for others]. In my view, the more difficult the task, the more useful it is. Difficult in the sense that as long as someone does not understand the great wisdom of altruism, sacrifice, effacement and annihilation and is not sure of how the souls of mu'mins, by the command of God, are working as the hosts of angels, he cannot be ready to crush his 'I' (ego) into pieces and scatter them in the mu'mins' path. However, there is one miraculous means to surmount this difficulty [of crushing the ego] and that is the perfect and wisdom-filled love for the Imam of the time. Mu'mins have always continued to seek favour from this source of grace.
One secret as to why respect and well-wishing for mu'mins is specifically necessary, lies in this blessed saying of God: "(Remember O Muhammad!) when you said to the believers: 'Does it not suffice you that your Lord should help you with three thousand angels sent down upon you?' Yes! If you are steadfast and God-fearing, and if (the enemy) come upon you suddenly, your Lord will help you with five thousand angels with signs (musawwimin)" (3:124-125). This verse on the one hand reveals that Divine succour and help come through the angels who are the souls of the mu'mins, and on the other it is alluded that just as Divine help is possible in the external struggle (jihad), similarly it is also possible in the internal batini jihad. The internal jihad is the jihad of knowledge in which there is fierce fighting against ignorance.
Refer to the holy Qur'an and see how the angels befriend mu'mins. God says: "Those who have said: 'Our Lord is God', then have remained firm, upon them the angels descend, saying 'Fear not, neither sorrow, rejoice in Paradise that you were promised. We are your friends in the present life and in the world to come; therein you will have all that your souls desire, all that you call for, as hospitality from One All-Forgiving, One All- Compassionate'" (41:30-32). God's countless favours and mercies, in which the mu'mins have no doubt at all, are mentioned in this verse.
The ultimate ta'wil of angels is the living and present Imam. For at the place of intellect, soul and body, he is such a supreme angel and such a great soul [and such a great intellect], that all the angels and souls are contained in him, since God has encompassed everything in him (36:12). He is the Divine light, which is always in the form of the perfect intellect, the supreme angel and the greatest human, so that the world of intellect (`alam-i jabarut), the angelic world (`alam-i malakut) and the human world (`alam-i nasut) may always remain illumined.
The Qur'an says: "On the Day of Resurrection, the entire earth (i.e., universe) will be rolled up in His grip and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand" (39:67, 21:104). Qur'anic wisdom also dictates that resurrection always continues secretly. This means that if the veil is lifted for someone, it will be evident for him that the heavens and the earth are always confined in the right hand of God (21:104, 39:67). But it should be remembered that this act of God is not in an external and material form, rather it is in an internal, spiritual and intellectual form. That is, the heavens and the earth exist and subsist in their own place, but God always extracts their essence, because the external world is encompassed by God's Pedestal (kursi), namely, the Universal Soul by its overwhelming power. One such result of this act is apparent in front of all in the form of the solar disc, the sun. Therefore, there is no doubt that the sun is the material essence of our solar system, which means that the solar system, despite subsisting in its own place, is centered and contained in the sun in the form of essence or light. The proof of this is the reaction of the sun, which is in a constant state of radiating particles of light and emitting waves of solar energy to its surrounding space.
The sun, in the centre of [its own little] universe is constantly transformed into luminous gas due to the overwhelming pressure of God's Pedestal on its spherical surface. This grip and pressure from the outer surface of the universe on its centre is spiritual, due to which the ethereal fuel constantly falls into the solar furnace, dissolving in it and causing solar flames to burn continuously. This shows that the sun is the result of the pressure of the Pedestal of God, namely, the Universal Soul.
Similarly, in the world of humanity there is the blessed personality of the Imam of the time, which is its luminous sun. The world of humanity is also ruled by the law of action and reaction and the reaction of the Imam, the fountainhead of light, is that like the sun, he always continues to radiate spiritual light.
One of the ta'wils of the blessed Olive tree is the world of humanity, in which there is no distinction and discrimination of colour or race, neither of the east or west. Its fruits are human beings; its kernel and oil are their collective spirit and spirituality; the oil, moment by moment, drips into the lamp of Imamat. That is, the particles of the souls of all the human beings are drawn to and enter his holy personality, where he, the workshop of light transforms them into light by God's command. However, as long as someone is unsure of this fact [in the light of knowledge and ma`rifat], he cannot be revived in this light. Just like the silk worm, which although it certainly transforms into a moth, can attain no pleasure and happiness at all from this miracle due to not having intelligence and understanding. It knows neither the significance of its previous state, nor the reality of the present one, due to which the worm and moth are separated from each other. This example shows the importance and benefit of knowledge and recognition.
Now a few words about the present book, which is called "Ganj-i giran-mayah" or Precious Treasure: This book consists of the articles which were written during my second visit to London. In the very beginning of this introduction the kind of Divine favours and blessings which can be attained by the souls of mu'mins has already been explained. In the field of knowledge, this humble and indigent servant is so weak that he cannot ever stand on his own feet, therefore he always needs mu'mins' sincere prayers and the spiritual help of the Divine light. Millions of thanks to the Holy Lord, that numerous pure and purified hearts in the east and west prayed with recognition and humility and the souls of many affectionate and kind friends worked as the angels of spiritual help, the result of which, by Divine grace, is in front of you.
Gar qabul uftad zihe `izz-u sharaf
If it is accepted, what an honour and eminence!
Some of my dear friends, with earnest and ardent yearning, had requested this humble darwish to write the second part of "Dhikr-i Ilahi" or Divine Remembrance. I am sure that that book, like "Hazar Hikmat" (A Thousand Wisdoms), which is scattered in the writings of Khanah-yi Hikmat and Idarah-yi `Arif, has also come (in a scattered form) in some of the articles, and particularly in "Precious Treasure". It can be studied in this form and later some researcher may also compile and edit it separately, with the permission of the organisation.
The purport of one of the wisdom-filled exhortations of the wise Qur'an, which is the unprecedented book of God, the One, the Unique is that if a mu'min has progressed in any way, he should remember his early condition time and again, so that in the light of the difference between his previous and present life, he will be duly grateful to God for His bounties. There are many such events in my early life, which I always remember and am duly grateful to my Lord, the Nourisher, for His present bounties of knowledge. However, it is true, that a human being is very ungrateful.
One of my dear friends asked me: What is the reason that all those articles which you have written in the previous and this year's visit to London are full of the essence and flavour of knowledge and wisdom and they are extremely useful? Do you like the cold climate there or do you find leisure and seclusion? What is the secret of this? I humbly replied that although the climate of London and seclusion were useful to me, they were not of special importance. For these facilities are greater for me in my own country, Pakistan. If I need a cold climate, there are the Northern Areas where I have my own humble abode and if I need to escape cold weather there is Karachi. So, the main reason for my good and useful work in London is that there I have some friends, who if they were to kindly accompany me to a desert the rain of their blessed tears would cause London to envy the desert! God willing, I will present practical proof that the spirit of special work for knowledge, according to the law of spirit, comes to me from my friends and students.
Mr. Amin Kotadia and Mrs. Mariam Kotadia, the president and secretary of the Idarah-yi `Arif, London branch, are two such `amaldars, without whose great cooperation and planning, this darwish's visit to London would not have been successful. These two devoted murids of the true Imam are very fortunate to have inherited yearning for `ibadat and knowledge and are almost entirely adorned with all the qualities of iman. They have rendered services beyond expectation on behalf of the London branch and on their own behalf for the dissemination and transmission of knowledge. I am deeply grateful to them and all the `amaldars and members in Pakistan also express their gratitude to them.
At this point, I would like to mention the beautiful and honourable name of Mr. Fath `Ali Habib, the president of Khanah-yi Hikmat, considering that the rest of the `amaldars and members of the headquarters and branches of Khanah-yi Hikmat are gathered and united in his blessed personality according to the law of unity. It is his very great honour and fortune that he is the present and senior patron of an epoch-making institute of knowledge like Khanah-yi Hikmat. He is its foundation and heart and soul. His personality is full of virtues: his recitation of ginans is an example of the sur of Israfil (May peace be through him), he is my extremely dear spiritual brother and extremely dear student, he is a kind friend and affectionate co-worker and he is honourable and respected like a father and serving like a son. May the Lord of the worlds confer the crown of success and eminence in both the worlds on president Mr. Fath `Ali Habib and his family!
Our next terrestrial angel, who is also endowed with the above-mentioned virtues, is the honourable president of Idarah-yi `Arif, Mr. Muhammad `Abd al-`Aziz, in whose beloved personality are gathered and united all the souls attached to Idarah-yi `Arif. It is the great favour and mercy of God that both the presidents personally work tremendously hard. Their hard work inspires me to carry them and all those `amaldars and members like them on my head or place them in my eyes or accommodate them in my heart, because I earnestly cherish their constructive hard work. Indeed it is dear and sweet to me like my own soul. Therefore, I consider president Muhammad and every `amaldar and member who works hard for the cause of knowledge, as my very soul. In addition to other activities, our beloved president Muhammad is also working hard for the progress of the cassette library. He is also among the patrons of our organisation. He has ardent love for knowledge. Sometimes he smiles from overwhelming happiness and sometimes sheds tears of gratitude when listening to the discourse of knowledge and wisdom. Al-hamdu li'llah I have introduced many bright and glowing faces of Khanah-yi Hikmat and Idarah-yi `Arif in the mirror of similitude (a'inah-yi mithal) of president Fath `Ali Habib and president Muhammad `Abd al-`Aziz, for it is not possible to mention all of them individually.
Let us pray together that God, the Most High, may unite all Muslims and mu'mins at the centre of His Rope! May He ease all difficulties, remove afflictions and calamities and may He help every faithful person to reach the ultimate destination in the light of knowledge and action!
Dust beneath the feet of Jama`at, Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Karachi,
Saturday, 27 Dhu'l-Qa`dah 1404 A.H. Year of Mouse, 25 August, 1984 A.D.
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